Shadows from Another Life (More in Heaven and Earth) by Katherine Gilbert – Review

Tags

5 stars, angels, Book Review, humor, Katherine Gilbert, magic, paranormal, romance, series, vampires, werewolves, witches

Review of Shadows from Another Life

Teena Jones can see other people’s past lives.  Not that she wants to.  Teena herself is living a reincarnation.  However, because of her skill, the Magical Council wants her to look into their latest case.  She has a team of Irregulars to help her, made up of several other supernaturally gifted folks, including William, the ghostly love of her life, who looks really great in a bowler hat.

The case involves a murderer, Nicholas Brown, who is targeting those who he feels wronged him in a previous life and Teena is probably on that list.  Actually, it seems like he is the one who wronged Teena, but who can reason with a crazy power-hungry man?

The case takes the team to several interesting locations, including a ride on the Orient Express.  It seems they are chasing a man, who in his previous life, had ties to the Nazi’s.  And now, Brown wants to try again, bringing back the Nazis take over the world. Are you kidding me?!  How did we get to this? 

“….for the last decade or so, the masks were off, and any irrational hatred or prejudice was not only acceptable again. It was often valorized and cheered. There were too many attitudes which were similar to those during the rise of the Third Reich lately….” (From Shadows from Another Life by Katherine Gilbert)

If this is not a comment on certain aspects of the world today, I don’t know what is.  This is the second book that I have read from this author, and in both, Ms. Gilbert has presented socio-political views that are deftly woven into the story.  The story may appear to be a paranormal romp through multiple locations involving a veritable smorgasbord of supernatural beings, but there is a point to all this.

This book is a follow up to Postcards from Another World, with the heroine and hero (Gillian and Nasser) of that story in charge of this investigation.  Both Teena and William seem to be unassuming people, content to stay in the background, except when they feel it is important not to be.  Most of the team is similar, with very little real leadership needed.  The play to their individual strengths and do whatever it takes to complete the task.  They exemplify teamwork.

While part of the More in Heaven and Earth series, Shadows from Another Life stands on its own.  I liked this book as much as I liked Postcards.  The story is mapped out in a similar way.  The plot is simple, but takes the reader on many side streets before getting to the final destination and ultimate confrontation.  The characters are diverse, including a talking dog, vampire, sorcerer, angel and werewolf.  And the romance between Teena and William is sweet!  Reader’s who enjoy a good paranormal adventure will appreciate this story and probably the entire series.

Through StoryOrigin, the author provided a copy of this book.  My review is my honest opinion.

*****************************

About Shadows from Another Life by Katherine Gilbert

Teena Jones has always known about being murdered in her past life. That’s no biggie. But when she falls in love with a revenant, things get complicated. Still, can’t a girl break up with the undead man she loves for reasons even she doesn’t understand without the Magical Council sticking their noses in? If only.

The Hon. William Ambrose Deighton was the younger son of a minor baron a century or so ago, and nothing in that lifetime prepared him for the afterlife he’s living. Or for Teena, who–despite the fact that they’re perfect for each other–won’t let him love her.

But suddenly the Council comes calling. It seems Teena’s murderer has been reincarnated and is leaving behind bodies again–including Teena’s, if she doesn’t look out. Together with the Council’s Outer Banks Irregulars–which include a psychic, a sorcerer, a dog-shaped magical parolee, a revenant who dreams of the circus, and a drag queen vampire–they need to figure out why, and how to stop him.

Still, as they race across Europe, through stately homes, stone cairns, Parisian cemeteries, and ancient Venice–not to mention a ride on the Orient Express–the case becomes much more complex. It seems this killer has accomplices from his former life, and, this time, the changes they plot will drag the world into a cruel and heartless past from which it might never escape. Can the paranormal world’s weirdest (and occasionally entirely unprepared) detectives find a way to stop them?

*****************************

Links

Add Shadows from Another Life to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Shadows from Another Life:

Magical Midlife Madness (Leveling Up, #1) by K.F. Breene – Review

Tags

4 stars, Book Review, K.F. Breene, magic, paranormal, romance, series, shifters, vampires

Review of Magical Midlife Madness

This is a fun story of a woman, newly divorced, who takes a caretaker job at a house that is so much more than a house.  And that house is surrounded by people that aren’t really what they seem.  It quickly becomes apparent that that Jessie is destined to be more than just a caretaker. 

Jessie’s neighbors and magical cohorts provide humor and fun.  A romance fraught with complications begins in this book, sure to be continued in the series.

One of my favorite parts of the story is where Jessie puts her foot down about regaining her youthful looks.  She has worked hard for every little crease and gray hair and she is not about to lose that.  She is a testament to maturity and gracious aging. 

Magical Midlife Madness is a bit thin on plot, as it takes most of the book to set the scene for a lot of potential adventures.  This series has all sorts of possibilities!

I read this book for free via Amazon’s Prime reading program.   My review is my honest opinion.

**********************

About Magical Midlife Madness by K.F. Breene

“Happily Ever After” wasn’t supposed to come with a do-over option. But when my husband of twenty years packs up and heads for greener pastures and my son leaves for college, that’s exactly what my life becomes.

Do-over.

This time, though, I plan to do things differently. Age is just a number, after all, and at forty I’m ready to carve my own path.

Eager for a fresh start, I make a somewhat unorthodox decision and move to a tiny town in the Sierra foothills. I’ll be taking care of a centuries old house that called to me when I was a kid. It’s just temporary, I tell myself. It’ll just be for a while.

That is, until I learn what the house really is, something I never could’ve imagined.

Thankfully forty isn’t too old to start an adventure, because that’s exactly what I do. A very dangerous adventure that will change my life forever. I have a chance to start again, and this time, I make the rules.

Links

Add Magical Midlife Madness to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Magical Midlife Madness:

**********************

Postcards from Another World (More in Heaven and Earth) by Katherine Gilbert – Review

Tags

5 stars, Book Review, humor, Katherine Gilbert, magic, paranormal, romance, sasquatch, series, vampires, witches

Review of Postcards from Another World

In Postcards from Another World, Gillian Sternbech, slightly magical parole officer in charge of Fluffy the Dog, is called in to help with a serial murder case. While Gillian is at a loss to understand how she can be of help, when she is partnered withe handsome sorcerer Nassar Farouq, Gillian goes along with the assignment. It doesn’t take long for Gillian and Nassar to figure out that she does have a connection to the culprit. The murderer leaves clues in the form of postcards and dreadful poetry for the pair to follow.

Each murder takes place at the site of some previous socio-political catastrophe/crime. The Whitechapel area of London, where Jack the Ripper victimized prostitutes who had no one to care about them. The 9th ward of New Orleans, devastated by a hurricane and ignored in the recovery. The Outer Banks of North Caroline, where wreckers purposely lured ships to crash on a rocky shore so the ships could be looted. And Lake Murray, South Carolina, where the residents were forced to leave so the area could be flooded to make a lake. As I was reading, I thought the author might just be making her own critical observations of history and felt that there was no purpose for it. Just so you know, I was wrong about that. Gillian will, in her on empathetic manner, make all the connections and use those connections to deal with evil.

Along the way, Gillian and Nassar will meet with Gillian’s grandmother (Baba Yaga), her mother and step-dad. He happens to be a sasquatch. There is also a possessed ventriloquist dummy who proves to be very helpful along with Fluffy the dog, who is helpful and supportive in his own way. Nasser, is the quiet hero in the background, letting Gillian do her own thing, helping when necessary, but knowing that she will get things done.

There are many things to appreciate about this book. The plot is at once straight-forward and chaotic (in a good way). The romance is sweet (no steamy sex scenes). The cast of characters, most of whom are part of the magical world, is extremely diverse. And I so much appreciated the author’s sense of humor.

Postcards from Another World is a part of the More in Heaven and Earth universe. Each book is completely standalone and this book was my delightful introduction to the series. Quirky and charming, this book includes an insecure Alpha heroine, a secure Beta hero, vampires, witches, a sasquatch, magic and a ton of entertainment! Oh, let’s not forget the human doing time in the form of a terrier because he tried to make a deal with a demon. And did I mention he has a thing for a cross-dressing vamp? Read this book only if you like fun! 🙂

Through StoryOrigin, the author provided a copy of this book.  My review is my honest opinion.

*****************************

About Postcards from Another World by Katherine Gilbert

She’s just a girl with a dog-shaped magical parolee. How did she end up having to search for a serial killer?

Gillian Sternbach is used to being overlooked. As the granddaughter of a famous, and dangerously-powerful, witch, she didn’t actually end up with much magic besides the ability to see and interact with ghosts, which often feels more like a curse than a blessing.

Still, she’s fine with her life as a parole officer for the Magical Council, looking after some of the less-dangerous magical miscreants, such as her current full-time charge, George, who’s rather mouthy for a man now trapped in the body of a fluffy Highland terrier. Even with her tendency to be a bit of a cryptid magnet, she doesn’t have any complaints.

Then, out of the blue, the Magical Council puts her on the case of a terrifying serial killer who leaves a Victorian postcard at each of his crime scenes through England and America. They team her up with Nassar Farouq, a sorcerer who’s way too attractive and kind to be good for her timid heart. Why she’s on the case is a mystery, until she learns that all of the killer’s previous victims seem to have connections to her.

Now, instead of her usual quiet life, Gillian and Nassar, with George the dog in tow, are chasing through every odd and supernatural spot on a multi-continent and cross-country trip to find a killer. From a Victorian cemetery in London to America and an abandoned town, a swamp where legends live, a sunken city, a creepy antebellum ruin, a haunted former insane asylum, and finally the wreck-strewn shores of the Graveyard of the Atlantic, she and Nassar will have to try to discover her connection to the killer and stop him before he kills again, especially since–as the murderer’s taunts make clear–his next victim is likely to be her.

*****************************

So, unrelated to this review, but related to a character in the book: do you watch TV shows about hunting for Big Foot? We watch them at our house and more than once, I have suggested to the Big Foot hunters (who can’t hear me) that they should look up! Thank you Katherine Gilbert, for getting this suggestion out there. Now, if we can just get the Big Foot hunters to read this book…..

Also, unrelated to this review, but related to an event in the book. Forcing residents to relocate and then flooding the previously inhabited valleys to create lakes has occurred in many places in this world. Climate change is altering the landscape at one such location. Drought is causing lake waters to recede and revealing the village that lay at the bottom in Northern Italy.

Links

Add Postcards from Another World to your Goodreads shelf:

Purchase Postcards from Another World: